Chris Davis is keeping it light during batting slump

Chris Davis may be a little light on hits recently, but his sense of humor remains strong.

After talking with a few reporters Sunday about his recent batting slump he said, “Hey, thanks, guys for bringing all this up.” He joked that he has pitching to fall back on if he needs it.

Don’t take any of this to mean Davis is not taking his slump seriously or not working hard to get out of it. He is, but he’s also trying to keep an even keel and knows hitters go through hot and cold streaks.

He went through a recent stretch of seven games where he went 11-for-28 with three homers and eight RBIs. But in his past eight games, Davis is 0-for-27, dropping his average from .308 to .272.

“There are a few pitches that I’ve missed early in the count that I’m fouling off that I was hitting,” Davis said. “I like to keep everyone guessing, so I might go seven or eight games and go 0-for-40 just to change it up. I’m sure it will turn around and if it doesn’t, I’ll just go back to pitching. I know (Rick) Ankiel made the switch. I might talk to him and get some pointers,” he said, some levity mixed in with the serious talk.

Davis didn’t start Sunday and went 0-for-1 as a pinch hitter. While admitting that sometimes a day off can be a mental break and help a slumping player, he said he’d still rather get his at-bats, slump or no slump.

“I want in there every day,” he said. “I want 100 at-bats, even if I go 0-for-100. I felt a little more confortable in the box Saturday night. I hit the ball hard a few times and had nothing to show for it. That is the way it goes sometimes. A couple of weeks ago, it seemed there wasn’t a ball I could hit that didn’t find ground somewhere. It will turn around. That is the way this game is.

“It kind of started in Atlanta when Martin Prado kind of decided to make Web Gems all over ESPN on me the entire night. I feel like I’ve had some good swings recently and everyone goes through it. I am still having good at-bats,” he said.

Davis was asked if could remember having a longer o-fer than his current one.

“I don’t know. There seem like times I haven’t had a hit in a month. But as a position player, you are out there every day. So that can work to your advantage and give you the chance to work on things. If you don’t feel good, though, it can snowball against you for a few games,” he said.